In the "Now"

Here we go!!

Are you ready for Monday?

I love Mondays.

I love being able to love Mondays.

It's really nice, considering I endured 33 years, give or take, of hating Mondays.

It's so nice to have such a good relationship with this day now.

After a weekend (or in this case, nearly two weeks) filled with noise and all of the joys that teenagers bring...I finally have my house to myself again.

This is the one day of the week that I have carved out for getting things done.

(Or, if need be, to stay in bed all day.)

This is not an option today. (It really isn't an option most Mondays...but it still does occur on occasion.)

I have been working on my "to-do" list for the past few days.

It is slightly overwhelming...but also a little exciting.

I have a bunch of new projects in the works.

I have been staring at my current disaster of a house, plotting some furniture rearranging, and doing some organizational brainstorming.

My house would be perfect if it only had one more room.

Apparently, there was another room in the original plan...but the contractor screwed something up.

The story I heard was that he threw in the cherry hardwood floors, and the granite in the kitchen as a trade for the "oops...sorry I forgot to put that four season room on your house" mistake.

I do love the floors and the countertops...but I could really use that extra room!

Oh well. 

I guess I will continue to be challenged when it comes to furniture arrangement in this wacky house.

But don't you worry....I can handle it.

~

I had a moment yesterday.

Liturgically speaking, yesterday was the Feast of the Epiphany.

(aka:  The Kings finally showed up in Bethlehem. )

It also marked the end of the "Christmas Season."

So, of course, we had to finish with a bang (or really, more of a heavenly sigh) so we once again sang our new favorite song (the one that I shared with you a couple of weeks ago.)

It was magical when we sang it Saturday night for Mass...so I needed to recreate that magic for our final hurrah on Sunday.

Communion started with the glorious "Gabriel's Oboe" (performed on piano and oboe) and after the congregation joined in singing "What Child Is This" we began.

All was well...until the moment when I dug into to the two "walking chords" that moved into the second section of the piece.  My hands must have wandered off course...because those two chords were WRONG!  So very wrong.

Everything was fine from that point on...but it was too late.

The moment was ruined for me.

I wasn't embarrassed or sad....I was MAD.

All I wanted was for my soul to be filled one last time until next year when we could resurrect this beautiful song...but no! It wasn't flawless and perfect.

And it NEEDED TO BE!

Jaine even said (afterward) "Your face turned red...and it wasn't a blushing red....it was a MAD red!"

So, I did what any drama queen would do.

Once people had cleared out, the three of us gathered around the piano, and sang it again.

This time, it was perfect. (Jaine even cried.)

That is exactly how it was supposed to be.

I got my moment...and it was good.  So good.

~

This is how I am approaching this new year.

In moments.

In GOOD moments.

I am not going to overwhelm myself in unattainable goals.

I am not going to beat myself up if I only achieve one thing in a day.

I am going to do things that excite me, or at least find ways to make the things I have to do more enjoyable.

~

Here is the funny thing.

Every goal I have is something that, when I actually achieve it, I feel SO MUCH BETTER.

In a nutshell, my overall goal is really to feel good, and to have more energy.

Guess what helps me to achieve that?

1. An uncluttered space.

2. Regular exercise.

3. A healthy diet.

4. Feeling "financially fit" (so I don't have to worry about money)

Hmmm....look at that.  All of the things I am working on lead to my all-encompassing goal.

Shocking.

Every single day....more baby steps.

(We met with a finical advisor yesterday, and are starting to get all of that fun stuff in order....more and more baby steps!!)

I like this "living in the moment" stuff.

It's good to continue to plan for the future as well...but you still need to live in the now.  I have spent way too much of my life living in the past, or waiting for something to happen in the future.  It's sad to think of all the moments I have missed because I wasn't paying attention to what was going on at the time.

Everything in the past is done, and the future is out of our control.  

It's interesting how different life looks when you change your perspective.

I find I'm a lot less disappointed when I just remain in the present.

When I would constantly look to the future, I would find that I always anticipated exciting things to come, but would be let down when it rarely turned out the way I had hoped.

Living in the moment allows you to enjoy things as they come.

Isn't that what life is all about?

If we have everything planned out ahead of time, we have taken all of the spontaneity and excitement out of living.

I think it's time that we start spicing things up again, move outside of our "safety zones" and enjoy this adventure we are on.

If we only get one ride on this roller coaster, we might as well enjoy it, right?!

Enjoy your Monday!! 

Okay...even if your Mondays aren't as blissful as mine....just think,

some of our favorite shows are finally coming back from their "winter breaks" this week! :)

Have a great day!